Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On 9/11/2011 at 2:28 PM Daniel Feenberg wrote: |The problem I have heard of relates to what happens if the machine boots |with the KVM switched to another machine? The KVM may need to pretend |there is a keyboard connected at that point. = I've used Avocent KVMs and this does not seem to be an issue with them. Currently I have a Avocent Switchview 100 PS/2 two-port sharing the console between FreeBSD 8.2 and OpenBSD 4.9 boxen. No issues regarding where the switch is pointing and which is booting. I do not use a GUI on either of those. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 4:43 PM, Polytropon free...@edvax.de wrote: On Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:10:48 -0600 (MDT), Warren Block wrote: On Sun, 11 Sep 2011, Daniel Feenberg wrote: If you are asking, Is there a FreeBSD command to cause the KVM switch to move to the next system? then the answer is I don't know and it would amaze me if there were. There's often a key sequence to advance to the next port or a specific port. That can _sometimes_ be a problem when the KVM switch doesn't properly detect this sequence - or maybe the user has already defined that sequence for some action in X, so X catches the sequence and acts properly. X catching the sequence won't stop the switch from reacting to it -- it's done in hardware in the switch. But of course X may do something undesirable if the switch passes the key combination through. The two most common ones are Ctrl, Alt, Shift (rapidly in sequence) followed by a port number, or Ctrl twice. The latter can be a little too easy to trigger accidentally. The USB switches generally emulate a generic USB keyboard and mouse, so drivers aren't a problem. Sometimes they work by simulating a USB disconnect from the machine they're switching to, though, so you need good keyboard and mouse hotplug support in the OS. Generally these switches don't react well to having anything but a keyboard in the keyboard port and a mouse in the mouse port. If you have a hub built into your keyboard the hub will be useless when you're using one of these switches. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 10:45 AM, David Brodbeck g...@gull.us wrote: The USB switches generally emulate a generic USB keyboard and mouse, so drivers aren't a problem. Sometimes they work by simulating a USB disconnect from the machine they're switching to, though, so you need good keyboard and mouse hotplug support in the OS. Err, clearly I meant simulating a USB disconnect from the machine they're switching FROM. :) ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:45:59 -0700, David Brodbeck wrote: On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 4:43 PM, Polytropon free...@edvax.de wrote: On Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:10:48 -0600 (MDT), Warren Block wrote: On Sun, 11 Sep 2011, Daniel Feenberg wrote: If you are asking, Is there a FreeBSD command to cause the KVM switch to move to the next system? then the answer is I don't know and it would amaze me if there were. There's often a key sequence to advance to the next port or a specific port. That can _sometimes_ be a problem when the KVM switch doesn't properly detect this sequence - or maybe the user has already defined that sequence for some action in X, so X catches the sequence and acts properly. X catching the sequence won't stop the switch from reacting to it -- it's done in hardware in the switch. But of course X may do something undesirable if the switch passes the key combination through. Yes, I thought of something like that _might_ happen, depending on the firmware of the KVM switch. You know, keys that are useful to users may be a first-class candidate for the manufacturer to say: Oh look, nobody uses *that* key, let's hardcode it as switching key! :-) The two most common ones are Ctrl, Alt, Shift (rapidly in sequence) followed by a port number, or Ctrl twice. The latter can be a little too easy to trigger accidentally. Fully agree, that's not very well thought... but maybe the product designers primarily orient at the Windows main target group that hardly uses the keyboard. :-) The USB switches generally emulate a generic USB keyboard and mouse, so drivers aren't a problem. Sometimes they work by simulating a USB disconnect from the machine they're switching to, though, so you need good keyboard and mouse hotplug support in the OS. FreeBSD's devd should handle that fine. Also the absense of a keyboard at system startup shouldn't matter. Generally these switches don't react well to having anything but a keyboard in the keyboard port and a mouse in the mouse port. If you have a hub built into your keyboard the hub will be useless when you're using one of these switches. Uh, that can be a problem when using professional desktop equipment, e. g. a Sun keyboard where you can connect the mouse directly to the keyboard (a feature known from the Apple ADB configurations of the 80's, if I remember correct- ly, but Sun also had this functionality in the pre-USB era; it's also a feature returning in Apple's modern USB products to attach the short-wired mouse to the keyboard's USB hub). I furthermore assume using the keyboard's hub for attaching other USB devices (memory sticks, MP3 players or cameras) to the keyboard's hub is a no-go then. Regarding the possible problem with monitors: As an example, the Nvidia documentation (HTML version located at /usr/local/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/html/) contains this interesting option: Option ConnectedMonitor string Allows you to override what the NVIDIA kernel module detects is connected to your graphics card. This may be useful, for example, if you use a KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switch and you are switched away when X is started. In such a situation, the NVIDIA kernel module cannot detect which display devices are connected, and the NVIDIA X driver assumes you have a single CRT. Something similar _may_ be useful in case of too much malfunctioning autodetection magic. :-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
I am thinking of using a TRENDnet 2-Port DVI USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio TK-214i with a FreeBSD-8.2 amd64 PC and a Windows 7 machine. I presently have a Samsung 24 digital monitor and a Logitech S510 cordless keyboard mouse combination. The keyboard, mouse and monitor presently work fine on FreeBSD. I am wondering if anyone has any personal experience with using KVM switches with FreeBSD and what that experience might be. I would really like to integrate these two PC into using just one common monitor, etcetera mostly due to space considerations. -- Carmel ✌ carmel...@hotmail.com ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
Carmel writes: I am thinking of using a TRENDnet 2-Port DVI USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio TK-214i with a FreeBSD-8.2 amd64 PC and a Windows 7 machine. I presently have a Samsung 24 digital monitor and a Logitech S510 cordless keyboard mouse combination. The keyboard, mouse and monitor presently work fine on FreeBSD. I am wondering if anyone has any personal experience with using KVM switches with FreeBSD and what that experience might be. I would really like to integrate these two PC into using just one common monitor, etcetera mostly due to space considerations. I have not used that particular make/model, but I have used a KVM and it worked. I vaguely remember accounts of people who had problems; a search of the mailing-list archives is advisable. Robert Huff ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 8:03 AM, Carmel carmel...@hotmail.com wrote: I am wondering if anyone has any personal experience with using KVM switches with FreeBSD and what that experience might be. I would really like to integrate these two PC into using just one common monitor, etcetera mostly due to space considerations. My experience with this is limited, but good. It's been sometime since I've used this setup, but I recall the FreeBSD was actually PCBSD and for it to work correctly I have to have them KVM switched to it when X was starting. -- Adam Vande More ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, 11 Sep 2011, Robert Huff wrote: Carmel writes: I am thinking of using a TRENDnet 2-Port DVI USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio TK-214i with a FreeBSD-8.2 amd64 PC and a Windows 7 machine. I presently have a Samsung 24 digital monitor and a Logitech S510 cordless keyboard mouse combination. The keyboard, mouse and monitor presently work fine on FreeBSD. I am wondering if anyone has any personal experience with using KVM switches with FreeBSD and what that experience might be. I would really like to integrate these two PC into using just one common monitor, etcetera mostly due to space considerations. I have not used that particular make/model, but I have used a KVM and it worked. I vaguely remember accounts of people who had problems; a search of the mailing-list archives is advisable. The problem I have heard of relates to what happens if the machine boots with the KVM switched to another machine? The KVM may need to pretend there is a keyboard connected at that point. You certainly can't tell by looking at the box, but the Trendnet TK-407 I have (which is a 4-port USB KVM from the vendor you mention) works fine with FreeBSD and Windows. We haven't tested the mouse in FreeBSD. Since any USB KVM would be fairly recent, you might just want to take a chance. Solaris Sparc systems had worse problems. Daniel Feenberg Robert Huff ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:28:42 -0400 (EDT) Daniel Feenberg articulated: The problem I have heard of relates to what happens if the machine boots with the KVM switched to another machine? The KVM may need to pretend there is a keyboard connected at that point. You certainly can't tell by looking at the box, but the Trendnet TK-407 I have (which is a 4-port USB KVM from the vendor you mention) works fine with FreeBSD and Windows. We haven't tested the mouse in FreeBSD. Since any USB KVM would be fairly recent, you might just want to take a chance. There is a Windows configuration utility that can be used to setup the switch. The way I figure it, if I cannot get it to work satisfactory, I can always return it. Does your switch work when X is not loaded? I have not been able to get a satisfactory answer regarding that. Someone mentioned that X has to be loaded first. That would definitely be a deal breaker. Thanks for your feedback. -- Carmel ✌ carmel...@hotmail.com ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 2:09 PM, Carmel carmel...@hotmail.com wrote: Does your switch work when X is not loaded? I have not been able to get a satisfactory answer regarding that. Someone mentioned that X has to be loaded first. That would definitely be a deal breaker. What I said is that the KVM, in my case, had to be set to the FreeBSD system when X was started for the KVM/FreeBSD system interaction to be correct. That's a much different circumstance that X has to be loaded first which is something I did not say. -- Adam Vande More ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, 11 Sep 2011, Carmel wrote: On Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:28:42 -0400 (EDT) Daniel Feenberg articulated: The problem I have heard of relates to what happens if the machine boots with the KVM switched to another machine? The KVM may need to pretend there is a keyboard connected at that point. You certainly can't tell by looking at the box, but the Trendnet TK-407 I have (which is a 4-port USB KVM from the vendor you mention) works fine with FreeBSD and Windows. We haven't tested the mouse in FreeBSD. Since any USB KVM would be fairly recent, you might just want to take a chance. There is a Windows configuration utility that can be used to setup the switch. The way I figure it, if I cannot get it to work satisfactory, I can always return it. Does your switch work when X is not loaded? I have not been able to get a satisfactory answer regarding that. Someone mentioned that X has to be loaded first. That would definitely be a deal breaker. If you are asking, Is there a FreeBSD command to cause the KVM switch to move to the next system? then the answer is I don't know and it would amaze me if there were. If the question is Does the switch care what the OS is? then the answer is, you can press the physical button on the switch to change the system connected. The OS doesn't know it doesn't have the screen and keyboard, and is in no way affected by the KVM switch, just as the KVM doesn't know or care what the OS is. I just looked at the manual for the 207K online, and it indeed comes with a utility that runs under windows. That won't work with FreeBSD but the switch has actual buttons on it, and they will work fine. Daniel Feenberg Thanks for your feedback. -- Carmel ✌ carmel...@hotmail.com ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, 11 Sep 2011, Daniel Feenberg wrote: If you are asking, Is there a FreeBSD command to cause the KVM switch to move to the next system? then the answer is I don't know and it would amaze me if there were. There's often a key sequence to advance to the next port or a specific port. If the question is Does the switch care what the OS is? then the answer is, you can press the physical button on the switch to change the system connected. The OS doesn't know it doesn't have the screen and keyboard, and is in no way affected by the KVM switch, just as the KVM doesn't know or care what the OS is. Well... there's monitor detection by the video card. That can cause problems. Also, going through the KVM can reduce video quality with VGA and high resolutions. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
--As of September 11, 2011 9:03:17 AM -0400, Carmel is alleged to have said: I am thinking of using a TRENDnet 2-Port DVI USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio TK-214i with a FreeBSD-8.2 amd64 PC and a Windows 7 machine. I presently have a Samsung 24 digital monitor and a Logitech S510 cordless keyboard mouse combination. The keyboard, mouse and monitor presently work fine on FreeBSD. I am wondering if anyone has any personal experience with using KVM switches with FreeBSD and what that experience might be. I would really like to integrate these two PC into using just one common monitor, etcetera mostly due to space considerations. --As for the rest, it is mine. In my experience, the OS isn't all that relevant. The main question is if the hardware works well together. Many KVMs don't do a great job of emulating a connection if the computer isn't the currently active one, and this can cause problems when something wants to see if a monitor is present (and wants to check what it's specs are), but that's not a FreeBSD problem per se: It's just a problem with the hardware. I'm sorry I don't have any good, cheap, KVM recommendations at this time. Enterprize-grade hardware usually doesn't have this problem (although it might), and I haven't needed to use a small KVM for a while. Daniel T. Staal --- This email copyright the author. Unless otherwise noted, you are expressly allowed to retransmit, quote, or otherwise use the contents for non-commercial purposes. This copyright will expire 5 years after the author's death, or in 30 years, whichever is longer, unless such a period is in excess of local copyright law. --- ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:20:19 -0500, Adam Vande More wrote: On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 8:03 AM, Carmel carmel...@hotmail.com wrote: I am wondering if anyone has any personal experience with using KVM switches with FreeBSD and what that experience might be. I would really like to integrate these two PC into using just one common monitor, etcetera mostly due to space considerations. My experience with this is limited, but good. It's been sometime since I've used this setup, but I recall the FreeBSD was actually PCBSD and for it to work correctly I have to have them KVM switched to it when X was starting. I have ben using a similar approach in the past, but in order to get rid of the requirement when X is started, console must be attached I had hardcoded the neccessary screen settings in xorg.conf so X would start even if nothing would have been connected. Sadly I can't remember the particular model that I had, but it had buttons to select one of the 8 console channels on its front. I found this was better than using something that required some weird keyboard shortcut as those are traditionally handled by the OS or by X. A LED indicator next to the buttons on the device's front indicated which system the console was connected to and if the system was online. -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
Re: KVM switch with FreeBSD-8.2
On Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:10:48 -0600 (MDT), Warren Block wrote: On Sun, 11 Sep 2011, Daniel Feenberg wrote: If you are asking, Is there a FreeBSD command to cause the KVM switch to move to the next system? then the answer is I don't know and it would amaze me if there were. There's often a key sequence to advance to the next port or a specific port. That can _sometimes_ be a problem when the KVM switch doesn't properly detect this sequence - or maybe the user has already defined that sequence for some action in X, so X catches the sequence and acts properly. My preferred solution was to get a switch that was _fully_ independent from keyboard in regards of its main functionality, i. e. switching. Another advantage of that particular one was that you could DIRECTLY switch from system #1 to system #8 without visiting systems #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7, :-) If the question is Does the switch care what the OS is? then the answer is, you can press the physical button on the switch to change the system connected. The OS doesn't know it doesn't have the screen and keyboard, and is in no way affected by the KVM switch, just as the KVM doesn't know or care what the OS is. Well... there's monitor detection by the video card. That can cause problems. I'm not sure in how far this sill applies to modern hardware. Absence of a video card vs. present video card with no monitor attached _could_ prevent a system from booting. The next step, starting X which obtains display information by querying the monitor (through the card), can easily be dealt with by putting the proper settings into xorg.conf. This will make X start even if no monitor is attached to the card. Also, going through the KVM can reduce video quality with VGA and high resolutions. I've seen that with some cheap cabling on analog VGA. However, when using DVI this problem should not be present, and it's common practice today to use DVI to attach digital displays (means: flatscreens). -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to freebsd-questions-unsubscr...@freebsd.org
